L'hnnar
L'hnnar was a Jedi Master and the master of Faarel Blackthorne. Born long before the Clone Wars, he was quick to rise in the ranks of the Jedi Order. L'hnnar was a gentle and thoughtful individual, whom avoided the Whiphid reputation for ferocity, fully embracing the pacifistic creed of the Jedi. While he was a respected member of the Jedi Order, he was not without his own personal problems, and often questioned himself and what he fought for, even once going into self-imposed exile in order to search his soul and find peace with himself and his lifestyle. It was during this time that he had met with another Jedi Master, whom had before him been down the same road, but had since returned to the Order. The Jedi told him of his story, and how he had come to learn that to protect life one had to fight for it. L'hnnar, taking the lessons of the Jedi Master to heart, returned to the Jedi Order and rededicated his life to the ideals that surrounded it. Due to his time in exile and what he had learned, he had grown repugnant about those whom abandoned the path of a Jedi. But, due to his own experiences, he also grew to be very forgiving for those whom sought out forgiveness for their misdeeds, no matter hot atrocious they could be. L'hnnar continued to serve the Jedi Order faithfully through the Clone Wars, and was amongst the several whom went into hiding upon the Great Jedi Purge, knowing how futile fighting the Sith would be at this point. Upon the Declaration of a New Order, L'hnnar again went into self-exile, this time to protect the Jedi Order itself. He refused to take on any apprentices, and kept his abilities to use the Force from even the most promising of potentials, in order to save their lives during the dark and perilous times. He resurfaced shortly after the Battle of Endor and operated on his own for several years more, until he convinced his former apprentice, Faarel Blackthorne, to resurface. Faarel spent some time reconnecting with civilization before rejoining the Jedi Order. L'hnnar himself would not rejoin the Order until after the Battle of Chil'a'Chin and closure of the Xen'Chi War. Afterwards, he became the headmaster of the Jedi Temple on Onderon, until the Battle of Ruusan. History Early Life Like all Jedi, L'hnnar was taken to the Great Temple to begin his training as an infant. When he was of age, he was picked by a Jedi Knight to begin his training as a padwan learner. He participated in many events, both great and small, and became a formidable warrior. His master's teachings were fundamental in his controversial nature, and forged him into what some of his colleagues would deem to be the perfect example of a Jedi. Stark Hyperspace War L'hnnar was an active participant of the Stark Hyperspace War. At this point, he was a full-fledged Jedi Master, and actively training his second padawan, Faarel Blackthorne. The two Jedi were ferocious fighters in the war, and served the Republic, and the Jedi Order, well. During the war, L'hnnar was faced with many choices on ending the life of his enemies. He was not proud of his accomplishments during this time, and with each individual he had to kill, he doubted his path, and himself, more and more. While L'hnnar put these feelings aside for the duration of the war, he was conscious of his inadequacies as a Jedi Master, and was forced to make decisions he did not wholly agree with. At the height of the war, L'hnnar knew he would have to go into self-imposed exile in order to sort out his personal feelings about his life. He continued to fight, regardless, until the war's closing. At this time, he deemed Faarel ready for the Jedi Trials, and requested that the Council put him through them. When Faarel succeeded, and was knighted, L'hnnar informed the Council of his decision to go into exile, and wished his former apprentice well. Exile L'hnnar's time in exile was riddled with questions only being answered with further questions. He refused to believe that life was simple, and continued to press on to find an answer to his troubled state. It was during this time that he met a Jedi Master whom had previously gone through exactly what he was doing. Unlike L'hnnar, however, this Jedi had abandoned the ways of the Order and had taken on his own path as a Jedi. He informed the Whiphid that he had been down L'hnnar's path since before the Stark Hyperspace War, and told him that death was a natural part of life, and that sometimes a life had to be taken, in order to save another's. It was at this point that L'hnnar realized that he had a misconception of his philosophy. Knowing now that, if it were absolutely necessary to take another's life, it would not conflict with his gentle nature, he vowed to take a new outlook on his personal problems. Returning to the Jedi Order with full confidence in himself, he asked for the Council's reacceptance within the Order, with a complete report on his findings while in exile. The Council convened to discuss L'hnnar's reacceptance into the Order, and later granted his request. Yinchorri Uprising The Yinchorri Uprising proved to test L'hnnar's new beliefs. Upon the raiding of the Jedi Temple, L'hnnar was dispatched with his new padawan learner to aid the Jedi and the Republic in suppressing the violent Yinchorri. L'hnnar fought valiantly, and bravely, though at the cost of his padawan. During the series of battles, he maintained his resolved, and regretted each life he had to take. However, he recognized the fight for the greater good, and kept that in mind throughout the entire war, thus effectively keeping himself together. It was L'hnnar's trial by fire, and he passed and proved to both himself and the rest of the Jedi Order that he had found his way once more. Clone Wars The Clone Wars proved to be the most taxing on the Jedi Master. While it was much easier for him to conduct battle for the Jedi Order, and for the Republic, he began to see both sides of the war and what each stood for. During the Clone Wars, he found himself questioning the very purpose the Jedi were fighting for, as the internal struggles and politics of the Galactic Republic began to show just as much purpose to fight against, as they had previous to fight for. L'hnnar was almost to the point of fighting against the decaying Republic, when he squared off against a Jedi whom had strayed from the Order and joined Dooku against the Republic. The fight showed L'hnnar who he would have turned into had he abandoned the Jedi Order, and upon the duel's ending he reaffirmed his beliefs and held his will to fight for the Republic, and for peace and freedom. The Jedi Master continued to fight in the Clone Wars, and continued to look to the Force for his answers whenever he held questions on the Republic's motives. While he had sensed the Dark Side involved in the war, he had come to believe that it was the Dark Side itself, through the actions of various individuals whom did not show the same ideals as the Jedi Order, and did not even begin to suspect that the entire war was being orchestrated by a Sith Lord from within the Republic's own hierarchy. Order 66 took L'hnnar by surprise, as much as it did nearly any other Jedi. And while he did survive the Order, he faked his own death in the process and went into hiding, knowing that he could not fight an entire galaxy, much less the Sith, by himself. The galaxy turned its back on him, and L'hnnar could not bring himself to be an enemy for those he fought to protect. The New Jedi Order Upon learning of the Emperor's and his apprentice's deaths, L'hnnar returned from his state of hiding. Though the galaxy at large was still skeptical about the Jedi, without the Sith's influence on them, L'hnnar knew it was the time to rebuild the Order. While he was unwilling to do so himself, he encouraged his former apprentice, Faarel Blackthorne, to return from his exile and help in the efforts. L'hnnar took little action on his part, aside from taking on a new apprentice, and continuing to pass on his decades of experience to her. Master and Apprentice At some time late 12 ABY, L'hnnar had traveled to the planet Bestine to attend to personal business. While on the world, he met and befriended a trio of near-humans; two adults and their daughter, Tone Krellisk. He sensed the Force in the girl, and spoke with her parents about training her in the ways of the Jedi. Despite being able to convince them to allow him to train her, L'hnnar was forced to leave Bestine to attend to business elsewhere. Upon his later return, he discovered that Tone's parents had died and she was in a state of emotional despair. He took the time to console her, and explained to Tone her connection with the Force. L'hnnar then expressed his desire to take her with him and train her to become a Jedi Knight. At first, Tone was against the idea, arguing that she had to return home and tell her extended family of what happened. L'hnnar learned that, if she returned to her homeworld, this opportunity would be forever lost, and so he explained to Tone her parents' desire for her to learn the ways of the Force. Using her respect for her parents' views, he successfully persuaded her to become his new padawan. L'hnnar spent the next year exclusively training his new apprentice, giving her a violet-bladed lightsaber to use as her own. He learned that her weakness rested with lightsaber combat, and opted to turn the focus of his lessons toward rectifying this apparent disability, while allowing her more natural ability of manipulating the Force to guide her progress in developing her Force powers. He watched his apprentice grow and develop into the beginnings of a Jedi Knight, though also noted she had a long way to go before he felt her ready for her trials. During this time, they traveled the galaxy, assisting those in need. Always with a conflict, no matter how small, L'hnnar had something to teach his apprentice. With each lesson, she was able to understand a little more of what was meant to be a Jedi. Despite her upbringing, L'hnnar noticed that she still clung to some of her traditional beliefs, and rather than fight them, he used them to show her that individualism was equally important to being a Jedi than merely following the Code. A Second Apprentice About one year later, the two Jedi were venturing into the Unknown Regions when L'hnnar stumbled upon a distress call on an out of the way planet known as Aleria. He opted to investigate, and followed the beacon to its source on the surface. He lead his apprentice into a facility that both were very surprised to find was still operational, at least to an extent. Apart from having to fight through the facility's automated security systems, the two were met with no opposition and found, among artifacts from the times before the Galactic Empire, a room that contained several individuals cryogenically frozen. They inspected the names and, to L'hnnar's amazement, one name answered so many questions he had in the past decade - Aaralyn Blackthorne. For reasons he kept to himself, L'hnnar opted to train the young Blackthorne in the ways of the Force, and refused to take her to Onderon, where the rest of the Jedi Order had established itself. During this time, the task of training not one, but two, apprentices began to show signs of stress for the Jedi Master. While Aaralyn was predominately unaware of these changes, Tone was able to pick up on them, and expressed her concerns to L'hnnar when they were alone. The trio ventured to several places throughout the galaxy, L'hnnar choosing each carefully to cater to not just Aaralyn's training, but also Tone's. They visited the ice world of Hoth, the swamp planet of Dagobah, and even the debris of Alderaan. For two years, L'hnnar trained both of his apprentices, and devoted a great deal of time and energy into ensuring that they were both progressing at a level he felt comfortable. They remained predominately separate from the new Jedi Order, as L'hnnar waited for it to grow strong enough for him to give his full support for it. It was not until the Xen'Chi War that L'hnnar became more involved in the affairs of the Jedi Order, especially after Jedi Master Cameo Naton called for the reformation of the Order and the assigning of a new Jedi Council. L'hnnar became an unofficial member of the new Jedi Order, and helped as it was necessary. It was not until the end of the Xen'Chi War that he finally decided to become a formal member, and rejoined the Order's ranks. At this point, he felt that Aaralyn was better suited for a different master and, after careful consideration, he requested from Master Faye Ward that she take up the responsibility. Headmaster L'hnnar L'hnnar's first assignment was to help distill the fear and anger that was leftover from the recent attack on Onderon. He and his apprentice, Tone, quickly found themselves busy at work and being tested of their limits. To L'hnnar, the task was a simple matter of determining his own strength in his teachings. He was able to lift some spirits and quell some dark notions, but he had a feeling that it would not be enough, should any of those that suffered from the attack get a chance to retaliate. This only made him more determined to get through to the students and, hopefully, keep them from falling to Darkness. Soon after the Council had returned to Onderon, he was made the permanent headmaster of the temple. L'hnnar humbly accepted the assignment, and proceeded to keep the temple running smoothly, despite several targeted attacks by various darksider organizations. However, as time progressed, the duties of headmaster began to wear on the Whiphid Jedi; even Tone was noticing he was growing tired of it, feeling the stressors of taking up the position of his assistant in his duties, in addition to being his apprentice. When the call came out to assist grandmaster Adam Sage in a battle on Ruusan, L'hnnar put in a formal request to join the reinforcements that were being deployed from Onderon. The Whiphid was drained, and felt in dire need to relinquish his duties as headmaster, knowing he was not meant for that sort of work. Derek Muir, the last member of the Council on the planet, helped the Whiphid Jedi Master work out an arrangement that allowed him to leave the temple for the fight. The Battle of Ruusan .]] The Jedi Master had arrived on Ruusan before any of the others from Onderon. Taking note of the sizable Sith fleet in orbit above the planet, he quickly activated his ship's stealth systems, and managed to reach the planet without detection. The Whiphid Jedi then maneuvered the ship to a clearing and took his Infantry Support Platform to rendezvous with the Jedi in need in the nearby mountains. He joined the fight by colliding his ISP into a small group of Sith droids, while he landed safely against a single nearby droid, and helped to bring the aggressors down. This act alone stood out as recognition for his abilities, and several days later, L'hnnar was on the front lines against a massive Sith assault on the proposed position of the Valley of the Jedi. He was instrumental in fending off the Jedi Order's enemies, and inflicted a great number of casualties among the Sith forces, before the combined effort of the Jedi forces and their allies present managed to fight the Sith to a standstill and even drive them into a retreat. While the majority of the Jedi assisted in the infiltration of the enemy command center, L'hnnar opted to join the airborne forces. He assisted the paratroops in securing the Sith base after a successful flyby bombing. Skills and Abilities Lightsaber Combat Despite his pacifist nature, L'hnnar is a formidable warrior, his large Whiphid frame giving him an advantage against smaller opponents and his Jedi talents granting him a speed and agility few of his species could match. L'hnnar utilizes both the defensive nature of Soresu and the offensive style of Ataru in his duels. This has granted him a particular edge when combatting against other individual, as he is fully capable of both methods of combat. Often, L'hnnar will utilize his knowledge of Shii-Cho and his limited usage of Shien and Djem So to back up his mastery in those two styles of combat. Force Abilities L'hnnar, due to his decades of experience, has a wealth of knowledge in the workings of the Force, and can perform many abilities with ease. From the rudimentary concepts of Force Push and Force Jump to more complex abilities such as Battle Meditation and Force Concealment, L'hnnar is a valuable asset to the Jedi Order. Other Abilities While he is not an accomplished pilot, L'hnnar owns his own ship that provides him with a means of transportation. He does not favor space combat, and attempts to avoid it at all costs. But, if pressured, he would put up a good fight, and typically either try to take the battle to the ground or find an alternative means to victory. L'hnnar is a diplomat, and favors a peaceful resolution over the act of war. As such, he is often the strongest voice when it comes to looking for diplomatic solutions to conflicts. His passion for life and his fierce desire to defend it at all costs has made him the advocate to many Jedi that often seek out more direct, destructive methods to ending conflicts. Category:Cadden Category:Jedi Order Category:Whiphids Category:Jedi Order Characters